"I listened to what she had to say, left school, walked over to the library and there PLTI was, setting up to do a recruiting," said Thompson-Peeler. She took it as a sign.

Thompson-Peeler collected the information, applied to the program and spent 20 Tuesday nights this spring learning how to be a leader.

"I didn't want it to end. It was an awesome program to be in," said Thompson-Peeler. "So much to take in and to hold on to."

A life-long city resident, Thompson-Peeler not only learned for the first time who her state representative is, but how to find her voice and use it so someone will listen. Along with collective work on policies and issues that have an impact on children, Thompson-Peeler, like the other participants, worked on projects.

Her project: Bringing books and read-alouds for young mothers and children in homeless shelters.

Classmate Ramona Black worked on a bereavement guide for children. "Not just loss through death. It could be loss through illness, incarceration. It could be a person gone to war. There are many reasons," Black said.

Lynda Stack, the legal guardian of a child at Winthrop School, created a Website to improve communication between the school system and caregivers of children assigned to the state Department of Children and Families. It's getting a lot of hits, she said.

In all, 19 projects were developed as institute participants tapped into their leadership potential. During each class, participants got three minutes each to talk about their projects and draw encouragement.

"It's easy to get discouraged," said Stack. "You have other people who felt helpless like yourself, but no longer feel helpless."

Donna Bennett, executive coordinator of the institute, said the goal is to get participants to become change agents, starting with their own areas of interest.

"The mission has been the same for 12 years, but the program is organic. Every year there are new parents and a natural change of focus depending on the projects," said Bennett. She has led the tuition-free program since it started.

Since the program began in 1998, there have been 206 graduates. Many participants have gone on to become leaders in their parent-teacher groups as well as businesses. Some are now adept at tapping into grant money for projects.

"No longer do I just get frustrated by something and not do anything," said Debbie Wong, a Winthrop School parent who worked on developing a text alert system for the district similar to those popping up in suburbia. She lives in a neighborhood where many families do not speak English. On snowy days, when classes were cancelled, she would see some students trudge to the bus stop because they didn't listen to English language radio or television stations. She's sure if they got a text message or automated call from school, even if they didn't understand it, they would know something was up.

So far, Wong has looked into what other school districts pay for a messaging system and believes the district is receptive to the idea. She has yet to set up a meeting with school officials to advance the idea.

"I would say the hardest part was the commitment it took. After I committed, I knew I had to do it," she said. "It has helped me to one, use my voice and two, strengthen my confidence and opened my eyes for the things I can do for my own children and other children."

Marilyn Perez, whose son attends Achievement First Bridgeport charter school, refined her four-year effort to build a playground on open space off Pembroke Street behind the former Garfield School at the institute.

She broached the idea with former Mayor John Fabrizi, but she said not until she took the institute class did she learn how to really go about making her plan happen, how to do research on the internet and how to network. Both Mayor Bill Finch and state Rep. Andres Ayala spoke to her class.

At the recent dedication of the Parent Center, Finch pulled Perez aside and told her a water "splash" park is in the works.

The facility is to be built sometime next year on the Boston Avenue side of the same open space area Perez envisioned the playground.

"I was OK with it. As long as we have something the kids could benefit from. It would be nice to have some combination of a water splasher and playground and some place parents can sit down," said Perez. One thing she learned in the class is to not be so attached to a plan that she is unwilling to change it.

Thompson-Peeler's literacy project also had to be adapted. First, she selected Families in Transition, a shelter with multiple locations. She went through a background check and became a volunteer. She put up flyers and drop-off bins around the city to solicit book donations. The shelter, however, has space only for a read-aloud program at one of its sites. Transportation from the other three locations is a problem. Also, Thompson-Peeler landed a full-time job as a medical records processor so scheduled her first read-aloud on a weekend.

Mary Lou Thompson, who has grandchildren in the school system, is about to roll out a plan for a money management class at the McGiveny Center. She wants seventh- and eighth-graders to understand money, its purpose and how to earn it in the right way by getting an education and even investing at a young age.

"I see kids going in the streets, selling drugs, stealing and they are getting younger and younger," she said.

The Rev. Donald Luster, pastor at Bethel AME Church, worked on a homework help guide for parents. He looked into how many minutes children at various ages ought to get for homework nightly, and consulted experts on the importance of homework and how parents can help without taking over. He plans to offer parents advice about keeping in touch with teachers, so if a child falls behind, they don't find out too late to help. The booklet is still a work in progress. "Once I get it in a form that is serviceable for folks, I need to take it to Kinkos," said Luster.